On Saturday, February 11, ABC7 held a luncheon honoring about twenty-seven students for its Cool Kids segment. They were gathered together to be awarded for being helpful and inspirational in their communities. Among these students was Poly sophomore Heinglee Va, who was nominated by his aunt.
For the past year and a half, Va spent every other weekend avidly taking part in making the beach a safer place for the community and, more importantly, for the marine life. He volunteers with the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization that gets students of various ages together to clean the beach. Va says that when he moved to Long Beach three years ago he had a rather inactive social life and joining the Foundation is one of the things that has helped him fit in. He joined when his uncle introduced the idea and he figured that “it beats sitting at home watching TV.
Va’s English teacher, Daryl Holmlund, said, “Heinglee always has a positive attitude, works hard, and is a deserving recipient.”